Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Growing Pains: Gay POC in the Media


My term project will explore the intersection of race, sexuality, and masculinity among young gay men of color (specifically Blacks and Latinos living in urban areas).  It is imperative to highlight the struggles of these men because gay men of color suffer in silence due to their invisibility in a white patriarchal society.  Moreover, the white gay community is overwhelmingly represented while the Blacktino gay community is underrepresented not only in mainstream media but also within gay-generated culture as well.  As a gay man of color, I feel very strongly about this topic because it is essentially autobiographical; my experiences growing up and the need for men like me to talk about our issues are the fuel behind this project.


The working title of this short documentary is growing pains (the other side of the rainbow), and it will highlight the experiences of several different gay men of color. Jason, a gay Chicano from Los Angeles, CA; Matthew, a genderqueer Latino from Weehawken, NJ; Karron, an African-American gay male currently living in Providence, Rhode Island will be the primary focus of the documentary. In addition to them, several other males will be speaking about their experiences (including myself).

The main inspirations for this documentary was a collection of poems by Essex Hemphill entitled Ceremonies, an anthology called For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Still Isn’t Enough, and the independent documentary Paris is Burning.  Hemphill is the voice of every gay boy from the hood who’s ever dreamt of flying; his poetry is naked, raw, and honest and unabashedly proud in it’s message of Black gay power.  Boykin’s anthology tells the stories of dozens of gay men who have been scarred by rape, religion, and repression. Lastly, Paris is Burning is a living memory of the ball scene of the late 80s and early 90s where gay men of color lived out fairy tales for a night. These are all important aspects of gay culture unique to gay people of color that have contributed to the mainstream mosaic of American media.

The crux of this documentary is to empower gay men of color to speak out about their lives, to advance in the identity and expression of the urban gay experience, and to demonstrate the lack of representation in the media. Although catered to gay men of color, this documentary will be educate people of all creeds and colors on what it truly means to live as a gay person of color.

Some References
1. Boykin, Keith. For Colored Boys Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Still Not Enough: Coming of Age, Coming Out, and Coming Home. New York, NY: Magnus, 2012. Print.

2. Paris Is Burning. Prod. Jennie Livingston, Barry Swimar, Claire Goodman, Meg McLagan, Nigel Finch, and Davis Lacy. Dir. Jennie Livingston. By Jonathan Oppenheim, Paul Gibson, Maryse Alberti, and Stacia Thompson. [Prestige], 1990.

3. Hemphill, Essex. Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men. Boston: Alyson Publications, 1991. Print.

4. Hemphill, Essex. Ceremonies: Prose and Poetry. New York: Plume, 1992. Print.
 

1 comment:

  1. Great topic. Just a thought - I think it would be interesting to look at homosexuality in the latino/black community and compare it to how people look at sexuality within the latino/black community in general. You could leverage terms like "welfare queen" and text around terms of that nature to see whether looking down upon the latino/black gay community is more about race or sexuality.

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